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How to Install KoboToolbox on Ubuntu in a AWS Cloud

🔹 What is KoboToolbox?

KoboToolbox is an open-source data collection platform designed for creating surveys, collecting field data, and analyzing results in real-time. It is widely used by organizations that need reliable and flexible data collection, especially in remote or low-resource environments.

According to KoboToolbox, the platform is used by thousands of organizations worldwide to collect millions of survey responses every month, supporting data-driven decision making.

🔹 Who uses KoboToolbox?

KoboToolbox is commonly used by:

  • NGOs and humanitarian organizations
  • Government agencies
  • Researchers and universities
  • Market research teams
  • Field survey teams

Basic Requirements for Installing KoboToolbox on AWS

To install and run KoboToolbox on AWS, you will need the following basic resources:

  • An EC2 instance with at least t3.medium (recommended for stable performance)
  • 80 GB of storage attached to the instance
  • One Elastic IP address for a fixed public IP
  • One domain name to access KoboToolbox securely
  • An AWS Security Group configured to allow the following ports:
    • 22 (SSH) for server access
    • 80 (HTTP) for web traffic
    • 443 (HTTPS) for secure web access

Step 1 – Update Server

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2 – Installs Git, Python 3’s pip, and curl for Data Transfer

sudo apt install -y git python3-pip curl

git: Used to download the Kobo installer.

python3-pip: Python package manager for installing Docker Compose and other Python-based tools.

curl: Used to download the Docker installation script.

Step 3 – Install Docker (latest stable Version)

curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sudo sh

This installs the latest stable version of Docker, which is recommended for running KoboToolbox.

Step 4 – Check Docker version

sudo docker --version && docker compose version

Verifies that Docker and Docker Compose were installed correctly.

Step 5 – Modify Firewall Settings

sudo ufw disable

Step 6 – Clone Kobo installer

git clone https://github.com/kobotoolbox/kobo-install.git

Step 7 – List Files

ls

Displays the files in the current directory to verify that the kobo-install folder has been cloned.

Step 8 – KoBo Install

cd kobo-install

Navigates into the kobo-install directory.

Step 9 – Run the installer

sudo python3 run.py

Starts the installation process for KoboToolbox on your server.

Source Link ;

https://kf.kobotoolbox.org/accounts/login/

https://eu.kobotoolbox.org/accounts/login/

https://github.com/kobotoolbox

https://github.com/kobotoolbox/kobo-install

Remark; This installation of Kobo Toolbox on AWS is not a separate or unique installation method. It follows the same Docker-based deployment process used for any server environment. The only difference is that the server is hosted in the cloud (AWS EC2), instead of a local or on-premise machine. Therefore, you can simply follow the official installation instructions without creating or modifying any separate steps for the cloud environment.

Backup Approach Recommendation

In this setup, performing a separate backup of KoboToolbox components (such as databases, Docker containers) can be complex and error-prone. Instead, it is highly recommended to use a full virtual machine (VM) backup approach.

By creating a complete backup of the entire server, all configurations, data, and services are preserved together in a consistent state. This method simplifies the backup and recovery process, reduces the risk of data inconsistency, and ensures that the system can be restored quickly and reliably when needed.